“What is?”
“Watching as your perfect world crumbles.”
“You’re an awful person.”
“My dear, you keep forgetting. I’ve never been afflicted with humanity.” He lifted a shoulder and drank more. “Besides, I meant it in a good way. A phoenix rises from the ashes for a reason. Your world must be destroyed for you to rise anew. And rise you shall. Just as they always feared you would.”
“How long before the truth spell works?”
He finished off his glass and promptly poured another. “It’s already active.”
“Do you like me?”
“I find you tolerable. Should you meet a violent ending, I wouldn’t shed a tear. Nor would I rejoice. I would go on as if you never were.”
I snorted in the most unladylike manner and took another sip of my drink. “The night my nonna attacked you… you seemed to know her. How?”
“Curses are curious things.” He downed another glass and splashed more into his empty cup. “Sometimes they’re like trees. They stay rooted to the spot they’re planted. Other times they’re like wildflowers. Their seeds float along with the bees and fly with the birds. They tangle and grow and thrive outside of that original patch they were sprinkled upon. Kind of like keys. Not all keys fit in locks. Some keys are much more cunning.”
I waited for his nonsensical ramblings to revert to a coherent answer. He simply gazed back at me. “That’s not even remotely close to what I asked. Are you drunk?”
“Quite.” His smile was the first real one he’d given me. A dimple appeared in his right cheek. It softened the harshness he wore like armor. “But what I said is true. There are things I cannot say, no matter the spell used on our wine, because there are greater powers involved still. I know your grandmother. Though I know many other interesting secrets.”
I wanted to know how he knew Nonna, but there was little use trying to pry information he clearly either couldn’t or wouldn’t give. “Tell me about the curse, then.”
“It’s a tale so old its origins are known only to a few. And even their memories have become copperlike with the age and patina that’s formed over them, dulling their shine until the shadow of what was is all that remains.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The story of curses and stolen memories. And the unraveling of many lies.” He abruptly leaned back, nearly tipping his chair over. “My brother will never force you to marry him. It goes against all that he stands for.”
“I didn’t ask about your brother.”
“No, but I imagine you’re curious. Has he indicated he wishes for you to complete the bond?”
I didn’t want to answer, but the truth spell enticed the words from my lips. “He’s told me about it, but he hasn’t indicated which he prefers.”
“I won’t ask if you’ve considered it. Especially since we know the manner in which it’s accepted. At least in part.” I tried to not show relief, but Envy must have seen the slight flash of it in my face. His smile was cruel delight. “He may not force you to wed, but he will not meekly wait in the background. That is not his way, either. He will make his presence and intentions known to each royal House. As he did today.”
I took another sip of the truth wine. “Why do you do that?”
“Pardon?”
“You always sow seeds of distrust between your brother and me.” I did not need to drink my wine to ask my next question. “Are you that envious of him? Or do you simply covet anything that isn’t yours?”
“I am not always plagued by envious thoughts.” His green eyes flared with an emotion that wasn’t based in sneering or his namesake. “My brother’s temper caused something important to be taken from me. I hope to one day return the favor. It is not envy I am motivated by. It is retribution. Something I imagine you and I share in common, though I doubt you’ll admit it, even with the truth wine.”
He hadn’t phrased it as a question, so the spell didn’t compel me to answer. “I would do anything to have my sister back. You ought to forgive whatever sins have come between you and Wrath. Happiness should be the only thing that matters.”
“I don’t give a devil’s damn about his happiness.” He glared at his wine, but left it untouched. “It’s obvious you do care, though. More than you’re probably comfortable sharing. Are you in love with him?”
I clamped my teeth together, and gripped my glass. It was no use. The words bubbled up. I clutched on to the phrasing Envy used and allowed the truth to pour from my lips. “No. I am not in love with him. But I do not deny there’s an attraction. He brought me to this realm, sold my soul to his brother, and lied about being my potential husband.”
“The lady doth protest too much.”
“Shakespeare.” I all but rolled my eyes. “How pompous and unsurprising that you’d quote him. Should I be envious over your education now?”
He watched me over the rim of his glass, his gaze sharp. “Odd, isn’t it, that a peasant from Sicily would have such refined taste in books. Or reading anything at all, for that matter.”
I prickled at his insinuation. “We may not have had money and servants, your highness, but we know how to read and write.”
“I assume you’ll tell me your proficiency is because of the spells your grandmother taught you. Or the recipes from your little food shack, or some other such drivel.”
“What are you getting at?”
“It’s simply curious, is all. And you do know how much I enjoy curiosities.”
I grinned. It was the perfect segue into my next line of questioning. “Why are you so interested in collecting objects?”
“I’m mostly interested in divine objects. Well, that’s not entirely true.” He laughed, as if he couldn’t believe the truth was still pouring so freely from him. “I’m only interested in one fully divine object now: the Triple Moon Mirror.”
“What is that?”
He snapped his fingers and a servant appeared. He whispered something too low for me to hear and the attendant dashed away. A moment later, he returned, holding an etched glass case. It was plain, unassuming. I immediately leaned across the table, hoping for a better view.
“It’s a mirror of the gods. Goddesses, I should say.” He ran his pointer finger along the glass case, then rubbed it against his thumb as if checking for dust. “It is said it has been embedded with the Maiden, Mother, and Crone’s magic, and can show you the past, present, and future upon request. It used to reside in this case, or so I’ve been told.”
Past, present, future, find. Chills raced along my spine. It was almost exactly what the enchanted skull had said, even down to the Maiden, Mother, Crone aspect.
Envy flipped the lid back, showing a deep lavender crushed velvet bed, indented where a hand mirror once sat. I did my best to not react. But my heart was thrashing wildly in my chest. If there was a divine object that could show me the past, it would solve my sister’s murder.
Excitement coursed through me. This had to be what the skull wanted me to find. I was certain of it. If I had the mirror, I no longer needed to worry about marrying Pride or Wrath and choosing my place in their House of Sins.